N'Krumah Lawson Daku

Born in Togo in 1974, Nkrumah Lawson Daku and his family arrived in France in 1979, as political refugees. His artistic eye is strongly influenced by his first childhood movies "La belle et la Bête" by Jean Cocteau, “la Beauté du Diable” by René Clair, “la Planète Sauvage” by René Laloux and Roland Topor. The literature classics, black series of the cinema, traditional tales from his childhood still remain deeply rooted within him.

Memory and questioning the future are the themes of his works. His work constantly oscillates between introspection and exploring the world, which he constantly questions. His photo series thrive on the stories of our time.

Sensitive to human values and the places he passes through, N'Krumah went on research trips to Mali, Benin, Turkey, Malaysia, Dubai, Portugal, Oman, Italy, Latvia and other European countries. He claimed his pictorial posture and quest for aesthetics, his work shows a narrative structure which allows these series to carry on one after the other, like chapters of a story which belongs to all of us.

His first encounter with photography was in 2005, in the south of Portugal, where he was overwhelmed by the mid-day light, he took his first photos "that made sense". His professional career began with portrait, which is the core of his work. His commitment to aesthetics can be shown through boxing: in 2012, "Boxing Athenas" was edited, the first book and photographic work dedicated to feminine boxing.

The beginning of his professional life was brought into being, due to his collaboration with the record and music industry, which gave him the opportunity to photograph famous figures like Cesaria Evora (he officially followed her career), Danyel Waro, Pierre Akendengue, Boubacar Traoré, Angélique Kidjo, Ismael Lo...He has been signing photos and posters since 2010 of the Africolor festival, photographing headliners: Rachid Taha, Moriarty, Femi Kuti, Christine Salem and others.

Attached to the North of France, his works have regularly been exhibited since 2007( his first year of participation at the Festival Matières Sensibles, where he became a promising artist). He was published regularly in the press (Le Monde, Libération, Vibrations, Telerama, etc.) accompanied by his portrait work.